AROUND THE WORLD

Greenhouse gases increasing

UNITED NATIONS — Heat-trapping greenhouse gases in the atmosphere reached a record high in 2005 and are still increasing, the UN weather agency said Friday.

The measurements coordinated by the World Meteorological Organization show that the global average concentrations of carbon dioxide, or CO(-2), and nitrous oxide, or N(-2)O, reached record levels last year and are expected to increase even further this year, said Geir Braathen, a climate specialist at the Geneva-based agency.

"There is no sign that N(-2)O and CO(-2) are starting to level off," Braathen said at the group's European headquarters. "It looks like it will just continue like this for the foreseeable future."

The concentration of carbon dioxide rose by about 0.5 percent last year to reach 379.1 parts per million, according to the agency. Nitrous oxide has totaled 319.2 parts per billion, which is 0.19 percent higher than in 2004.

There is 35.4 percent more carbon dioxide since the late 18th Century primarily because of human burning of fossil fuels, the WMO statement said.

The UN agency said it also has concluded that "greenhouse gases are some of the major drivers behind global warming and climate change."